The Bourne Betrayal (film)
The Bourne Betrayal is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Alfred Gough and David Koepp, and is the fifth installment in the series of films adapted from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourne_(novel_series) Jason Bourne novels] originated by Robert Ludlum and continued by Eric Van Lustbader, being preceded by The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Although this film has the same title as Van Lustbader's second Bourne novel, The Bourne Betrayal, the actual screenplay bears little resemblance to the novel. Unlike the novel, which features Jason Bourne as the principal character, the film centers on black ops agent Daron Parks (played by Nathan Keyes), an original character. In audition to Dickson, the film stars Natalie Portman, Chris O'Donnell, and James Earl Jones. The titular character Jason Bourne does not appear in The Bourne Betrayal, because actor Matt Damon chose not to return for the fifth film, due to Paul Greengrass not directing. Bourne is shown in pictures and mentioned by name several times throughout the film. Gough and Koepp sought to continue the story of the film series without changing its key events, and parts of The Bourne Betrayal take place at the same time as the previous film, The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Filming was primarily in New York City, with some scenes shot in Pakistan, Canada, and Los Angeles. In The Bourne Betrayal, Daron Parks is a member of a black ops program called Operation Swordbreaker whose subjects are genetically enhanced for recon operations. He must run for his life once former CIA Treadstone agent Jason Bourne s actions lead to the public exposure of Operation Treadstone and its successor Operation Blackbriar. Released on November 15, 2013, the film received mixed reviews with critics praising the story, Harry Gregson-Williams' score, and Keyes performance, but expressed disappointment in Matt Damon's absence, as well as the lack of shaky camera work (a key element of Greengrass' directorial style) that the second and third films had used. The film was followed by The Bourne Sanction in 2014 with Jeremy Renner reprising his role as Aaron Cross. Plot Six weeks after Jason Bourne's (Matt Damon) escape from Moscow, Daron Parks (Nathan Keyes), an operative belonging to a National Security Agency black ops program called Operation Swordbreaker, is sent to Waterton National Park for a training exercise. He is forced to traverse rugged terrain to arrive at a remote cabin. The cabin is operated by an exiled Swordbreaker operative, Number Five (Michael Benyaer), who informs Darren that he has broken the mission record by two days. Reporter Simon Ross (Paddy Considine) of The Guardian, who has been investigating the CIA programs Treadstone and Blackbriar, is assassinated at London Waterloo station (a scene from the third film). When the illegal adaptation of the programs is exposed by Bourne, the FBI and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigate CIA Director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn), Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), Blackbriar supervisor Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), and Treadstone medical director Dr. Albert Hirsch (Albert Finney). Cast Production Universal Pictures originally intended The Bourne Ultimatum to be the final film in the series, but development of another film was under way by October 2008. George Nolfi, who co-wrote The Bourne Ultimatum, was to write the script of a fourth film, not to be based on any of the novels by Robert Ludlum. Joshua Zetumer had been hired to write a parallel script—a draft which could be combined with another (Nolfi's, in this instance)—by August 2009 since Nolfi would be directing The Adjustment Bureau that September. Matt Damon stated in November 2009 that no script had been approved and that he hoped that a film would begin shooting in mid-2011. The next month, he said that he would not do another Bourne film without Paul Greengrass, who announced in late November that he had decided not to return as director. In January 2010, Damon said that there would "probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one just because I think we're probably another five years away from doing it." In December 2010, Universal announced that a fifth Bourne film would be filmed back-to-back with The Bourne Legacy. Ron Howard, who directed The Da Vinci Code (2006), and Angels & Demons (2009), was confirmed to direct the fifth Bourne film. Release Home media Reception Box office The Bourne Betrayal earned $10.5 million on it's first day of release. The film grossed over $40.5 million on it's opening weekend in the United States and Canada and debuted at #1 of the box office charts, surpassing Universal's expectation of $20 million. It grossed $86.9 million worldwide in its first weekend. The film sold roughly 410,000 more tickets on its opening weekend than the first film in the series, The Bourne Identity. Studio research reported that audiences were evenly mixed among the sexes. The film grossed over $137.1 million in in North America and $178.3 million internationally, bringing the film's worldwide total to $315.4 million. Critical response References Category:2013 films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Bourne films Category:IMAX 3D films